Tag: creativity

Castlerigg Stone Circle

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I’ve been wanting to make a print of this for some time now. It is taken from an original photograph of mine, which was taken early one morning at the site, high up on the hills near Keswick in the Lake District. It is a very beautiful place and can often be quite busy, but get there early and you can have the place all to yourself, as we did on this occasion. I tried to keep the print simple, focusing on the actual stones rather than the surrounding hills. The colours are nothing like representative of what is there, but I’m pretty happy with the result.

Busy, Busy, Busy

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I have been neglecting my blogging duties lately, mainly because I have been desperately trying to get various ideas out of my head and onto paper! The first two images shown were inspired by a visit to St Peter’s Church in Conisbrough; one of the oldest buildings in South Yorkshire. This visit had been inspired by reading the book “South Yorkshire Folk Tales” which mentions what is thought to be either a Viking or Saxon tomb cover that can be seen inside the church. The stone is carved with what appears to be a figure, possibly St George, defending a cowering Bishop from a dragon. I took the theme and researched examples of knights, bishops and dragons depicted in Medieval art to make a composite image. The smaller “face” print is a two dimensional representation of a carving to be found on one end of the same tomb cover.

We spent some of the Summer holidays in Northumberland and on the East coast of Yorkshire. I took photographs of images I already had prepared in my head (from previous visits to these places) to produce the prints of Lindisfarne Castle and a couple of small fishing boats in the harbour at Staithes near Whitby. I also have a couple more prints ready to go when I get a lull (haha!) You see, I can’t even switch my mind off when I go on holiday! I am currently working on three images, one at the carving stage, one at the inking stage and one at the initial drawing stage.

Wistman’s Wood

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Another two block, reduction print, but this time using Ternes Burton registration pins – a world of difference and how on earth I managed before, I really don’t know! This is the first time ever that I have started on a print run of ten and ended up with ten good prints – hurray! The image is of Wistman’s Wood, a particularly twisted and tangled woodland in Dartmoor, in places so dense that it is almost impossible to get through. Everything there seems to be green – the mossy stones, the leaves, the tree trunks – hence the overall green colour of the print.

A Stranger Raven

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This is the latest image from my series inspired by the children’s novel, “A Stranger Came Ashore” by Mollie Hunter. In this, the finale, Robbie is standing on the edge of a ‘voe’ (a bay or inlet in the Shetlands) about to be beaten by The Great Selkie when, as promised, his school teacher Yarl Corbie appears in his ‘other’ magical form as a gigantic Raven, and attacks the Selkie, gouging out his eyes and sending him off into the ocean, never to entice the young girls into his underwater palace again.

This was quite a tricky reduction print, using two blocks and a lot of fingers-crossed guesswork! I did also cut a larger (A4) version of the raven to be printed independently.

Tools of My Other Trade

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Ordinarily, my job as a musician runs alongside my work as a visual artist. However, these are not ordinary times and, as such, I haven’t been able to perform with the band for almost a year now. In light of this, I decided to try and get ‘close’ to my instruments again and represent them in a lino print. This is the result – intentionally black and white and intentionally simple. I do play guitar as well but another instrument would have affected the balance of the image.

Little Mester

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Possibly the most abiding memory of this current pandemic for me, is just what utter disregard the London-based politicians, particularly Boris Johnson and the Tory party, have for the people in the North of England. All data and apparent reactions to data are clearly based on the South (London of course) and the Home Counties, and us Northerners can effectively go to hell! I have always been quite pleased that I am a Yorkshireman and was born and brought up in Sheffield, but this has all served to make me positively proud of those facts. This picture is a result of that feeling. I am descended from a long line of Scissor Makers and cutlers based in Sheffield, where many of them were known as ‘Little Mesters’ – independent craftsmen in small workshops throughout the town. There are a number of Cadman Streets and Cadman Lanes (my surname) named after my ancestors. This design was adapted from a couple of the sculptures on the front of The White Building in Fitzalan Square which is in the town centre.

‘Mester’ is the way a typical Sheffield would pronounce the word ‘Mister’.

Spring Heeled Jack – Again

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I was never 100% happy with the original version of my Spring Heeled Jack print, mainly with the head and face – it just didn’t look as I’d imagined it. After a number of variations, I settled on the one shown here, using the goat-head often seen in folklore. I also decided to make a feature of the background, bringing the Victorian legend up-to-date by showing the modern-day Sheffield skyline behind the iconic shape of the Cholera Monument. It was done as a two block reduction print and whilst it’s not technically perfect, I’m pretty happy with the overall atmosphere.

Let’s Dance

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More as a diversion than anything else, I decided to redraw and cut a lino print of the logo I have used for many years for my ‘Short Supply’ musical output. I did use it on the label for the one and only 7″ single I put out in the early 1990s, called “The Day The Earth Stood Still”. We (Justin – the vocalist and myself) recorded it in Rotherham at The Powder Room studios. It features cut ups from the film of the same name and a killer chorus – haha!

Salem and Moon – New Print

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Whilst it might seem to some that this print goes against my self-imposed remit of “Contrasts and Anomalies”, the very fact that it is not obviously in keeping with my other work is actually a contrast! However, I would maintain that a black cat easily falls in with my other work, in that it is often the subject of other-worldly superstition and legend, much like the Green Man figure. The picture is of our own cat, appropriately named Salem, and she does look in a somewhat sombre mood. The registration isn’t perfect and I am intending to hand paint the eyes next week, but I’m pretty pleased with how it’s turned out. It is printed on 7×5″ cards and on a limited run of A4 Hoshi paper. They are for sale, please get in touch – through my Instagram page (@grooveware_art) is probably the easiest way, as I haven’t got around to setting up a shop yet. I will soon.

Green Woman

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In an effort to redress the balance somewhat, I have carved and printed my version of a Green Woman, or Mother Nature. The idea is that the face is seen in a tree branch, surrounded by foliage. I have printed this image on white A6 cards and on brown, recycled paper. I am planning on reprinting the image but with a background texture, printed from a highly grained piece of wood.